Like We're Guessing
by Karkalicious769
Summary: As a child, Jake had an imaginary friend. His name was Dirk, and he was great, and spending time with him was great. But then Jake grows up. He makes new friends, and slowly, Dirk fades away to nothing. But when a new kid arrives at school who happens to actually be Dirk, Jake is going to have to face the facts. Maybe he had never really grown out of his old friend after all.


**A/N: I figured that I might as well just post this and see where it goes...**

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 **Dirk's P.O.V., The Past**

Jake was only three when Dirk was created.

As an only child, abandoned at birth and left in an orphanage, Jake still hadn't _quite_ figured out how to make 'friends', or even what 'friends' were exactly. So, to fill the unfamiliar ache in his heart, he had imagined Dirk.

And as his 'imaginary' friend, Dirk took it upon himself to look after Jake as well as he could, even if he couldn't exactly feed him or anything. From the moment he was created, he never left Jake's side. If he fell asleep, Dirk would play with him in his dreams. If he was awake, Dirk would mess around with the other kids, shove an arm through their head, write invisible signs and stick them on their back, until Jake couldn't _stop_ laughing.

It was amazing. The best years of his life, easily.

But when he turned six, Jake was adopted.

They were nice, his adoptive parents. Sweet, and loving, and everything Jake needed in a guardian. He had even introduced them to Dirk, something he would rarely do.

Neither of them had been looking in the right spot when they said 'hello', but Jake didn't correct them. It wasn't like Dirk could, anyway.

It was strange, though. The more time Jake spent with his parents and their genetic daughter, Jane or something, the more Dirk could feel himself fading. But the most he faded, the more real his emotions felt. Jake had a broad imagination, even if he didn't pay much attention to it anymore. Imaginary friends were supposed to be just that - imaginary, no really emotions, opinions, or anything extraordinary.

But Dirk wasn't like that. He felt jealousy, hurt, compassion, protectiveness, and… love. He loved Jake, it was simple, really. But Jake didn't seem to return the feelings anymore.

He was eight now, and finally making friends besides Jane. He had befriended the new girl at his school, Roxy. A sweet girl with a sweet tooth, but Dirk didn't like her. He tried to voice this opinion to Jake, but it had taken several tries and a lot of shouting to get his attention, and even then, he barely paid attention.

Dirk could feel it, the flickering existence he lived. They had known each other for five years, and not a single day went by that Dirk didn't pass the hours just by thinking back on all the good times they had. Jake didn't remember them.

Sometimes, they would have short talks in his room. Jake always paid the most attention when they were alone, but the moments never lasted. He had homework, or dinner, or promised Jane and Roxy they would hang out.

He never thought heartbreak would become so familiar.

Once, he tried to follow Jake out on his visits with Jane and Roxy, but for some reason he couldn't. He'd step out of the house and just black out before awaking hours later in Jake's room when he was fast asleep. He never asked where Dirk was all that time or why he was almost never in his dreams anymore.

Then, one day as Jake left for school and he blacks out again, Dirk realized what was happening.

Jake didn't need him anymore. He was moving on.

Now age twelve, Jake had his own phone. He was constantly on it, talking to school friends or using it to look up test answers, or interact with strangers on his several social media accounts.

He hardly ever even looked at Dirk anymore.

But he held on hope. Dirk knew Jake better than anyone (not like he knew a lot of people, though). He was technically a part of him, after all. And if there was one thing that he knew about his old friend, it was that Jake doesn't just forget about friends.

And yet the evidence was overwhelming. His blackouts were becoming more and more frequent, and he could no longer visit Jake in his dreams or even leave the house at all. Jake was growing up and, likewise, growing out of his imaginary friend.

With all this sudden free time on his hands, Dirk had nothing to do but think. He began to question himself. Was he even real at all, or were the things he felt and even his thoughts just something Jake wanted? What about him? Why was he created as a teenage boy instead of Jake's age? Did he even have an age, or a birthday?

Would Jake even care at all if he did?

It wasn't long after this that Jake turned thirteen. By then, Dirk was nothing more than a flicker out of the corner of his eye, an annoyance, if anything. And it hurt. Dirk was mostly just surprised that he was still around, though, based on all the kids gathered around as Jake blew out his candles, that wouldn't last much longer. Still, as long as he existed, that meant that deep down, a part of Jake still couldn't let go. A part of him still needed Dirk, and no matter how small that part was, he was going to grab it and never let go.

"Make a wish, Jake!" His mother says enthusiastically, preparing to take a picture.

He closes his eyes, face scrunching up in that adorable way of his, and Dirk can hear his wish, just a whisper in his mind that manages to reach his ears.

 _I wish I'll grow up soon._

Grow up.

Dirk knew what that meant.

He looked down and, sure enough, his hands weren't there. It was a strange feeling, disappearing, bit Dirk didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything anymore. He was completely numb, inside and out.

They say humans can hold onto hope for the longest amount of time. They just hope, and hope, and even when they run out of reasons to be hopeful, they just keep hoping. But Dirk wasn't human.

He had given up on staying long ago, even if it was only now that Jake was finally putting him out of his misery.

Smiling up as the ceiling fades to black, Dirk takes a deep breath and disappears, gone in an instant.

Jake's head jerks up just as a familiar head of blonde hair disappears from the corner of the room. For a second, intense regret flashes in his eyes, but then his father hands him cake and it's gone, shaken from his young mind.

Still, even was the next years flew by and Jake entered high school, something felt like it was… missing. He just never knew what it was until the very thing he had been craving for years walked into his English class.

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 **A/N: I just wrote this on a whim. Literally, like, less than an hour. I'm sorry the first chapter sucks and is very, very short, but the next chapter (if anyone reads this at all) will be longer, and I'll eventually reveal how Dirk became a real boy in the first place. Until then!**


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